Pharmapack 2023 – From the Floor

Attending Pharmapack 2023 in Paris? Follow the live updates from the Content team as they move around the event, attending sessions, workshops, learning labs, and more from the Paris Expo. 

2 February 2023 

That's it! Time to pack up... the whole team here in Paris has had a brilliant time, we've welcomed hundreds of people to the Learning Labs, Workshop, and Conference Theatre on both days and had endless conversations with our exhibitors. The new Start-up Hub has been a real hit, and we couldn't have been happier to celebrate our Award winners for 2023. The whole show has been a resounding success and we can't wait for the next one!

In the final Learning Lab of the day Volker Grouls, Key Account Manager of Körber Pharma Packaging Materials AG, discusses sustainable pharma packaging. 

Volker starts the presentation with an impactful image of the temperature change in Switzerland over the last few years, really driving home the message behind why we are and should be working together as an industry to be more environmentally friendly and to mitigate climate change. 

He goes on to talk about the sustainable practices in place at Körber, with the aim of being Net Zero by 2040. Körber also won the Pharmapack Europe Award for their product a completely recyclable COVID-19 rapid test, and Volker urges other companies to try to reduce their use of plastic other methods of making their products more sustainable. 

The role of the pharmaceutical industry from ‘Contributing’ to ‘tackling’ climate emergency. From Hanns-Christian Mahler, Chief Enablement Officer, ten23 health. 
-    Notes that there is a lot of focus still on financials and not necessarily on positive outcomes. 
-    Sustainable employee benefits 
-    He lays out that disposables are a choice that we need to make, what is better from a use perspective or a environmental perspective, such as in using biodegradable disposables, or making them with different materials 
-    Not to put too fine a point on it, but really bringing the message home:

"Yes there’s a lot to consider, but if you want to make a change, so what? Just do it"

At Pharmapack we are so glad to be able to create a space for companies to interact, network, collaborate and make meaningful connections for their businesses. As part of the Start-up Hub, our Start-up Programme Manager Sophie Whitehead put together a round table for start-ups and mentors to get together to discuss how Pharmapack as an event has helped them and the ways in which it can be improved for future start ups. We had a great discussion and are looking forward to implenting some new ideas in our future events.   

After a full day yesterday there's no slowing down over here at the Paris Expo, Hall 7.2 is arguably busier than ever! 

In the conference theatre first thing, under our sustainability track, we have an important and interesting (not to mention popular) session on Putting ESG into Practice - Decarbonizing Supply Chain in the Pharma Industry from Jose Francisco Vallejo Carrera (Global Head of Environment & Environmental Sustainability Corporate HSE, Sanofi) in partnership with PSCI. 

There are 69 companies that share the PSCI vision, really working towards the ethos that when working together a really positive impact can be made. 

On discussing the Maturity Model for decarbonisation, Jose goes through the stages: 
“Energy reduction, this is business, this is one of the first things we have to look at” 

Jose is positive about the change we can make as an industry: 
“We expect by 2050, with this pharma commitment, we hit 90% of the expectations” 

1 February 2023

Rounding off our first day we hosted the Pharmapack Europe Awards 2023, wishing all of our winners a huge congratulations and a big thank you also to our Jury members for the impossible task of choosing our winners! 

POV: your event hooks up with Tony's Chocolonely...

If you haven't met our start-ups yet, make sure you get yourself on the next tour from our Start-Up Programme Manager, Sophie Whitehead, as she introduces each of the companies in our Start-up hub who are at the forefront in innovation in the industry. 

So thrilling to see how popular our different sessions are throughout the event, standing room only for Audrey Chardonney, Business Development Director for Aptar Pharma, over at the Learning Lab for her session on PFS and Autoinjector Drug Delivery.

Popping across the hall to the Workshop this afternoon for the track on autoinjectors where Anil Busimi (VP of Strategy and Marketing, Terumo Pharmaceutical Solutions) gives us a rundown of a case study looking at a Biosimilar Drug Launched Globally Using Integrated CDMO Solution. 

Anil discusses the different challenges of using injectors for medicine administration, they stress that the needles themselves are a key focus, as realistically this is the most important part of the device in contact with the patient. 

The presentation covers the differences between different guage needles, silicone oil free vs silicone oil syringes, and more, with some thought-provoking data. 

Well into Day 1 now and we're back in the conference theatre with a track sponsored by BD Medical. Adam Kalbermatten, VP Commercial Development at BD Medical presents on De-risking combination product development for large volume biologics: a pharma partner's perspective. 

Adam highlights all of the considerations that are so important in designing drugs and drug delivery devices. 

"Drug formulations need to be developed with those combinations in mind"

"If a device is not going to be used in a hospital by trained staff, how are we making sure it stays safe in the home? We need to think about how these drugs are going to be administered early on."

He states: "What's important at the end of the day is getting the product to customers and patients." 

We were even treated to a demo for the BD Libertas Wearable Injector! 

I have been spending some time in the Innovation Hub today with our Start-up companies; it's brilliant to see a designated space at an event like Pharmapack for start ups to exhibit their products, attracting the right audience and building connections that will help their businesses no end. 

Felix Müller, Plus10, at his stand in the start-up hub showing off their unique AI developments. 

And on to the Conference theatre! Gregor Nischer gives a presentation on the Key Drivers for Consolidation in Pharmaceutical Packaging. Gregor emphasises how much size does matter: 

"There is substantial size pressure for the key SMEs in the industry... as a small company you typically don't have the capacity to negotiate with suppliers"

"Customers tend to increasingly outsource lengthy processes (manufacturing, filling, packaging, and logistics) to the third parties," He stresses that these are difficult, if not impossible, for companies to do organically. 

Gregor cotninues to outline the difficulties in the Transatlantic 'regulatory gap' - where regulations differ from Europe to the US, presenting another challenge for companies looking to expand. 

Starting off with an educational morning here at the Paris Expo in the Learning Labs, where Novak Wenzel, Senior Global Director for Business Development MDS at Gerresheimer, is introducing the New EZ-Fill SmartTM Platform for vials. Novak goes into detail regarding the sustainable aspects of the vials. 

The hall has transformed overnight! It's brilliant to see the stands full, the workshops brimming with people and hear the excited buzz of chatter as people move around from booth to booth. From: 

To: 

31 January 2023

Gearing up to Pharmapack this week we have prepared some content for you to look out for, namely around sustainability, a big focus for this year's event. 

Pharmaceutical companies have been working for several years now on new goals and initiatives in line with making their work more sustainabile and limiting the industry's impact on the environment. In pharmaceutical packaging this posed many challenges, however, these are being overcome in some ingenius ways, many of which will be highlighted at the event held in Paris this February. 

Pharmapack are also making a commitment to sustainability and have partnered with Stevanato Group this year. Mauro Stocchi, Chief Business Officer at Stevanato Group, goes through some of the most pressing considerations for sustainability in the pharmaceutical packaging industry in this pre-show interview.

New to Pharmapack this year is the Innovation Hub, which is hosting 14 start-up pharmaceutical companies. We'll be visiting the Hub for our Innovation tour on site, where we are looking forward to getting to know the people and the products behind this new wave in innovation. Take a look here to meet the start-ups.

Ahead of the event make sure to read through the Pharmapack Survey and Annual Report 2023, this can give you an idea of what to expect from the show and what we have found out from the running of our two previous two events. Trends in innovation in packaging, sustainability, and patient centricity are discussed by industry experts, giving in depth insight, including from speakers you can see here in Paris! 

We've arrived on site! The set up is in full swing in Hall 7, can't wait to see all of the stands and the place brimming with people!

In another preview interview ahead of the event we spoke to Beth DiLauri, WW Director, Portfolio Marketing at BD Medical – Pharmaceutical Systems. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated how accelerated innovative drug development programs can directly respond to global health crises. However, an oft overlooked part of these programmes is how these therapeutics are delivered to healthcare providers and their patients, including their storage and their administration.  

As part of Pharmapack 2023, we discuss with Beth DiLauri why innovative pharmaceutical packaging solutions are an essential part of delivering equally innovative drugs and therapeutics to those that need them most.